This article examines relationships in the writing process and offers some strategies to address student needs on both the cognitive and affective domains.

Despite calls to action, writing pedagogy in the English classroom remains outdated, and caustic partisanship among theorists may be to blame. The author proposes a "principled approach" to the teaching of writing, combining the best elements of verified instructional methods to generate six components ensuring student growth.

In his foundational work, "English Composition and Rhetoric," Alexander Bain set forth the framework for what students and teachers now routinely refer to as the five-paragraph essay. Teachers were so inculcated with Bain's paradigm for the "perfect" essay format, they in turn have inculcated their students, and they just say now, "Write an…

The wiki is an excellent tool for student collaboration and teacher assessment. Students' comfort with online social networking makes the wiki a perfect forum for students to coauthor works and to respond to each other's writing. In this article, the author discusses how to use a wiki to promote discussion and aid students with writing. He tested…

There is a seductive "commonsense" logic to two opinion pieces that have appeared over the last two years in the "Speaking My Mind" section of "English Journal": (1) Byung-In Seo's "Defending the Five-Paragraph Essay," which appeared in the November 2007 issue; and (2) Kerri Smith's "In Defense of the Five-Paragraph Essay," which appeared in March…

Teachers across the country consider the best methods to teach writing in the middle school and high school. They aspire for students to produce writing aimed at real audiences and purposes, writing that follows the author's thinking and leads readers to discoveries about the topic. Many teachers believe that a formula in writing could offer…

Considers what poets themselves have to say about poetry. Discusses how they write poems, why they write poems, and what poetry is good for. (RS)

An English writing teacher has helped students acquire control over their writing in varying contexts by focusing on specific strategies that they could apply to different strategies of the writing process. Strategies for inquiry, for drafting and for products can be used with any of the students' writing tasks, which helps them become strategic…

Discusses the 10 elements of the author's personal writing curriculum: solitude, experience, faith, need, tension, pattern, voice, ease, productivity, and readers. (RS)

Describes an informal experiment designed to explore the relationship between drawing and writing, and the meaning held in the drawings. Finds that drawing should not be relegated only to small children, but should be used to help older students explore their thoughts and feelings as well. (PRA)

Describes how the author asks students to turn off their monitors (literally and figuratively) and key into their "processors." Describes a tactile writing exercise to emphasize the sensation, the feel, that "writing with flow" generates. Notes that this experience of flow is vital to his vocation as a writer and as a writing instructor. (SG)

Argues that too many teachers are looking for quick fixes for students' writing problems. Shows how formulaic writing of the kind J. Schaffer advocates forces premature closure on complicated interpretive issues and stifles ongoing exploration. Argues that writing teachers must help students develop a repertoire of strategies for identifying and…

Asserts that role-playing peer-response groups provide effective feedback and help students develop a sense of the characteristics of a particular audience. Illustrates with a sample lesson (a college application essay) by outlining five steps of the process. Offers other uses of the role-playing peer-response groups method. (PRA)

Shares some of the things learned during interviews and observations of three English teachers focusing on the role of planning in the teaching process. (MG)